Hal nodded and the two of them left, making their way to an interrogation room, where Sierra was restrained.

"Sierra first." he said.

"She's got more in her, according to Jake." he told her.

"...all right, Sierra, let's get you back to normal." he said to the banshee.

"Ashley, whenever you're ready."

"....I see." Hal replied.

"Yes, that DID look like a fair amount." he said.

"Regardless, come on, let's go and do Aedan." he told her.

He had noted the... whatever it had been... in Ashley's expression, but he wasn't about to bring it up then. He would only bring it up after she's helped Aedan.

"And thank you." he said, as they reached the room Aedan was in.

She was... more heavily restrained than Sierra was... and clearly still unconscious.

"....right..." Hal muttered.

"See what you can do for her?" he asked Ashley.

Hal was silent for a moment, before sighing.

"One last question." he said.

"What do you make of the mana?" he asked.

"You said you would be able to identify it when you withdrew it from them." he recalled.

"So what's your opinion on it?" he asked her.

"Any ideas as to the origin of it?"

Hal raised an eyebrow when she said that.

"Well, we know it's not yours, and you say it's not your sister's." he commented. "Which is... understandable, she's gone." he reasoned.

"So why the familiarity?" he asked.

"Where is this coming from? Can you tell me the source?" he asked her.

"It seems they've targeted my Unit agents, and that can spell disaster." he continued. "And we don't need THIS disaster, on top of the global movement of the trials that's spreading."

"......" Hal was silent as Ashley said that.

".....is that so." he said.

"Your refusal to cooperate is noted." he told her, obviously not impressed.

"Why?" he asked.

"Why, even though you know the source, can you not share it?"

Hal just crossed his arms over his chest.

"So what you're saying is that you clearly have more information than you're letting on... but you're not telling us." he summarised.

"Would that be correct?" he asked.

"If so, then we may have some issues here." he commented.

"Tell us everything you know about the mana that was placed in agents Callimachi and Gardner." he told her.

"......" Hal was silent as he heard that.

"Ah..." he said.

"There are two possible ways to take that." he told her.

"Neither one of them are good." he said further. "Now... I might not know you too well, but I've heard enough about you that I can reasonably assume that you would never willingly withhold something like this." he went on.

"...or... well... perhaps you would, depending on the circumstances..." he then muttered.

"Will you at least agree to let us try and... coax it out of you?" he asked her.

"Thank you." Hal responded.

"I do appreciate it." he said.

"Now, that being said..." he then muttered, sighing quietly. "You might want to let people know you'll be here for a bit." he told her further.

"Just so they know." he reasoned.

Hal just sighed.

"Very well." he said.

"But I warn you, we can be VERY persuasive. And that's putting it lightly." he told her.

"Regardless, let's get you to a room." he then said further.

"We have a potentially long and hard road ahead of us."

"....damn it." Hal cursed.

"Whatever you're hiding, you have a secure lock and key on it." he told her.

"Seriously. You're keeping this one HELL of a secret." he commented.

"Even our BEST efforts aren't enough." he muttered.

"Your resolve is truly amazing, though I get the sense it's not something you're choosing to do." he then added.